Drugs and Alcohol

Having an employee found to be driving over the limit is the time to take a deep breath. As an employer, when you get this news, pause! Think before you react. What you do or say now is critical, it may come back to bite you if you’re not careful. Over the festive period everybody’s out celebrating. Even though there’s plenty of publicity about drink driving, some people still take a chance. Some people don’t think about the morning after. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon to have an employee found to be driving over the limit the morning after they’ve been celebrating. When they give you the news what do you do? Your reaction will probably depend on whether or not your employee’s job involves them driving on business. Those employees who drive as part of their job are the biggest challenge for you as their employer. Potential Penalties The penalty an employee found guilty of driving over the limit may get is up to the magistrates who hear their case, and depends on the offence. Driving or attempting to drive while above the legal limit or unfit through drink may mean that the employee gets: 6 months’ imprisonment an unlimited fine a driving ban for at least 1 year (3 years […]

Cannabis and drug misuse at work, whether intentional or unintentional, can harm the user physically. As well as mentally and through the misuser’s actions, harm other people and the environment. Drug misuse can be a serious problem. Not only for the misuser, but also for the organisation where they work and possibly for their co-workers. As an employer, you could be breaking the law if you knowingly allow drug-related activities in your workplace and fail to act. You could raise your awareness and that of your managers or supervisors on how to spot cannabis and drug misuse at work. Drugs can affect the brain and the body in a number of ways. They can alter the way a person thinks, perceives and feels. Therefore, this can lead to impaired judgement and concentration. Also there is a possibility of general neglect of a person’s health and well-being. This may create poor performance at work, even when the misuse takes place outside the workplace. Signs of cannabis and drug misuse at work which you might look for include: ❑ sudden mood changes; ❑ unusual irritability or aggression; ❑ a tendency to become confused; ❑ abnormal fluctuations in concentration and energy; ❑ impaired job performance; ❑ poor […]

What do you do if you smell alcohol on a worker? Besides the smell being potentially unpleasant, there are worrying statistics that show how common the problem actually is. A recent survey has found that 85 % of 2,600 people surveyed have been drunk in the workplace in the last year. 31% of them admitted to being drunk at work, or being unable to work as well due to alcohol, at least once a week. These figures also showed that employees working in public facing jobs were more likely to stay sober. The Statistics are quite Frightening There are 31,767,000 workers in the UK. Based on that 31% sample. This means that 9.8 million of the British workforce in any one week is drunk at work or has impaired capacity to work. That’s a massive 1 in 4 British businesses that have, on average, at least one worker per week at work who is drunk. Or incapable of carrying out their job properly because of alcohol. According to the institute of Alcohol Studies, office professionals are far more likely to drink alcohol during the working week. They are also prone to drinking at work and it is estimated that £7.3 billion is lost each year in business productivity due […]

Having an employee caught drink driving is the time to take a deep breath. Remember the old saying ‘act in haste repent at leisure’… The festivities are approaching; everyone’s out celebrating – you have an employee caught drink driving who tells you that they were charged with a drink driving offence. So, what do you do? Your reaction will probably vary, depending on whether or not your employee’s job involves them driving on business. We’ll focus on those who drive for you as part of their job. These hold the biggest challenge for you, the employer. An employee caught drink driving and convicted of a drink driving offence can be fairly certain that they will receive a driving ban as part of their penalty. In addition to fines they might even face imprisonment in some cases. But, before you rush off in a panic, think: has your employee been convicted of an offence yet? Or are they just telling you that they have been charged and they are likely to be appearing in court to face charges? Take Care that you don’t overreact If they haven’t yet been convicted of an offence take care that you don’t over react, for example by […]